The present invention relates generally to point of sales (POS) terminals, and, more specifically, to product management in a merchandising store.
In a typical retail store, various products are displayed for examination by customers and eventual purchase. The product typically includes a barcode in the exemplary form of the one-dimensional universal product code (UPC). The barcode represents a unique number typically known as a product look-up unit (PLU) number for identifying the specific product and its sale price.
When the product is brought to a POS terminal for purchase, a barcode scanner reads the barcode for determining its price. The terminal typically transmits the PLU number to a central server or computer which accesses a price look-up database to obtain the price therefor which is then returned to the terminal for display on a monitor. In this way individual products are scanned and priced, and listed on a receipt which is printed at the terminal for delivery to the customer upon completion of the purchase transaction.
In a recent development, price verifiers are now being introduced in stores to complement the POS terminals. Like the POS terminal, a price verifier includes a barcode scanner for reading the product barcode to determine its identification number, and is also joined to the common server to access the price database and determine the price for the product. The look-up price is returned to the price verifier and is displayed on a small monitor thereon so that a customer may confirm or verify the price of the product prior to purchase at the POS terminal. Unlike the POS terminal, the price verifier is not configured for completing a purchase since it lacks a cash register, receipt printer, and associated hardware and software found in the more complex terminal.
Whereas the POS terminals are typically centralized in a row thereof near the store entrance, one or more of the price verifiers are distributed throughout the store for being readily available to customers for verifying product prices from the barcodes. Since the POS terminal determines product price from the price database, this price may not match the price label displayed on the product itself or on the display shelf. Accordingly, price verifiers presently found in retail service are experiencing heavy use for price confirmation. Price verifier usage is presently determined by a simple sequential counter which records the number of price look-ups made at the verifier over a period of time.
Product manufacturers and retailers manage the various categories of products displayed in a retail store based primarily only on which and how many products are actually sold. This data is obtained from inventory records as products are sold. Of course some products sell better than others, and some products have the capability of being sold in larger quantities which is affected by various marketing factors including advertising, store displays, quantity and location of the products in the stores as a few examples.
It is an object of the present invention to improve management of product inventory for promoting sales performance.